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Outlander Chronicles: Phoenix (Outlander Chronicles #1)

Posted by
Krystal Larson
at
1:01 AM
Thursday, December 29, 2011

Eighty years after a smallpox pandemic decimated the global population, Jacen Chester finds himself the sole survivor of his tiny community, just outside the ruins of Philadelphia. Out of the ashes of the old civilization he determines to build a new one.

The young man encounters a wanderer with a mysterious past, named Hakim, who begins to teach him the arts of leadership, self-defense, and the history of the recent global disaster. Together they gather a small group of people committed to Jacen's vision of the future.

The endeavor is threatened from within by Jacen and Hakim’s own sharp differences, and from without by ruthless groups having a decidedly different view of the future. The two men must grapple with philosophical differences regarding violence and religious tolerance in a world where the margin of survival doesn’t permit mistakes. When catastrophe strikes the growing community, Jacen’s leadership is put to the test.
Goodreads Summary

It must be hard to be one of the only survivors of a small town. Jacen must decide to put all of the hardships that he has already faced behind him and focus on what is to come. He determines to try to rebuild the small town. He runs into other survivors, naturally, and they must work together for one common goal.

The goal is threatened when Jacen and Hakim run into some very large difference of opinion. Large issues are discussed from religion to the handling of violence-how much is too much? How should transgressions be handled, does it matter what type of transgression the person committed? In order to work past these problems, Jacen and Hakim talk it out and leave the reader with a very unusual and philosophical discussion. The discussion is interesting, especially in the context it is provided, but it can be a little too much sometimes. The reader may want to just tell the two to figure it out and fast, rather than discussing the issues to death. However, the book is over-all interesting and an adult readers will likely enjoy the book.